With the advent of the Air Carbon-Arc Cutting and Gouging Process, it became quickly apparent that when the torch such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,573,419 was used by an operator and the torch was manipulated, the concentric cable conducting both electricity through a solid conductor disposed within and spaced apart from an insulated conduit utilized to carry air to the torch was in use and the operator twisted the torch and cable to gain a better position relative to his workpiece, it was possible for the braided conduit to unlay thus causing internal arcing and early destruction of the cable and the torch as well as creating an unsafe operating condition.
One solution to this problem is disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,234,317 wherein the swivel cable is limited to approximated 340.degree. rotation so that the cable will not unlay. The device of the U.S. Pat. No. 3,234,317 is the current state of the art in concentric cables for the Air Carbon-Arc Cutting and Gouging Process.
As another solution Patentees of U.S. Pat. No. 4,052,116 disclose and claim a swivel connector that will permit 360.degree. rotation between the torch and the cable. However, the device has several limitations because of the various threaded connections and the possibility of internal arcing between several of the interfaces due to the lack of compressive forces at the interfaces. This structural arrangement will promote wear and unnecessary adherence to close manufacturing tolerances.